Color
by mutantpenguins
Summary: Colors had meanings, everyone knew that. A character sketch of Ed turned relationship sketch toward the end. Ed/Roy, rated T for safety.


Wow. This was _supposed _to be a character sketch of Ed through the lens of colors and meanings. Simple enough, right? But _no_. It just _couldn't_ work out like that. Roy just _had _to work himself in there.

Oh well. Truth be told, Ember enjoys writing Ed/Roy. They just seem so… she doesn't know. Maybe 'real' is the word she's looking for.

Without further rambling…

_Color_

There were a few colors that Edward Elric considered near to him. Colors had meaning; everyone knew that. And Ed's colors each had some kind of impact on him.

Of them, perhaps the most obvious was red. After all, he wore it all the time and the Stone he sought was said to be red. And the things it symbolized were pretty obvious too: power, volatility, and strong emotions.

While Ed knew he wasn't as powerful as he could be, he liked to think that he was powerful and independent enough to get by. After all, he had been in quite a few sticky situations before and gotten out of them either by luck (also symbolized by red) or his own two hands.

Anyone who knew Ed could say that he was volatile. He knew it himself. He could frequently in the course of a conversation go through multiple viewpoints and moods. Then again, his temper spoke loud enough on the subject of volatility.

And that led into strong emotions. He felt the things he felt very strongly, whether it was irritation, outright anger, or a fierce protectiveness toward the people he cared about. There was always some kind of emotion playing about on his features, and he refused to do or feel things halfway.

Yes, red was a good color to describe him. But it didn't quite do the job.

Gold was also an obvious choice, due to his hair and eye color. The eyes were what drew people's attention, and they were said to be windows to the soul. Ed wasn't quite sure if his soul could quite so easily be related to gold, but one meaning did kind of fit.

Gold represented extravagance, which Ed knew he had in abundance. He was just a showy person. While he could be subtle if a situation demanded it, he much preferred to just get the job done.

His tastes in alchemy were also said by many to be rather extravagant. Then again, Ed figured they just didn't know what true style was.

The third obvious choice was black. He frequently wore it, too, if only so the oil stains from his automail wouldn't be quite so obvious. Also, anyone who knew the meaning of black, a fairly obvious meaning, could easily attribute it to him.

The meaning of black was mourning. That was easy enough to understand; Ed frequently mourned for a mother he had lost; a brother he had almost lost; and a past he wholeheartedly wished he could change.

Then again, the color also had an air of mystery to it. Ed frowned slightly, thinking about that. '_Am I mysterious?_' he wondered. Puzzled, he threw the meaning aside to be dealt with later.

A slightly less obvious choice for any casual observer would have been the color silver. But anyone who knew who he was and what he did for a living knew that the color silver dominated Ed's life.

Silver was the color of intelligence, which Ed liked to think he had. Clearly others thought so, too, or he wouldn't be where he was.

Silver also meant security. That one had kind of a double meaning, Ed reflected. On the one hand, he felt he was pretty secure in who he was. He wasn't like most people who doubted themselves every step of the way, uncertain of what they were doing, who they were, or even what they thought about their daily lives.

Silver was also his trap. His watch trapped him into a life he wanted nothing to do with; a life where he knew he would probably have to kill people one day. He shuddered, hoping that day wouldn't come until he had the chance to shed the secure cage of silver he was in.

Ed felt these colors that were always close to him did a pretty good job in the symbolism field, as they seemed to fit him. They didn't do the whole job, but Ed couldn't figure out what was missing, so he was pretty content with it.

There was one color, however, he refused to let rule his life.

That color was blue. He didn't even care what the meaning was; he didn't want to have anything to do with the military. It was the reason he had never taken the uniform, even if he was forced to carry the watch.

Then again, blue also meant stability. Ed knew that his life was not a stable one. He traveled daily and wasn't sure exactly where he would be a few days from the present, much less the years the word stability implied. It could also be gone in an instant, a sacrifice to the research he was determined to see to an end somehow.

Blue's other meanings were loyalty and unity. No matter what, Ed could not see himself as loyal to any cause except his own. Sure, he might sympathize with people along the way, but ultimately he wasn't truly loyal to them; he just helped them and moved on.

Nor could he see himself as being one with something. He was his own person, and unity didn't account for that.

Ed was forced to put aside his rambling thoughts as someone let him- or herself into the room Ed was staying in at the moment.

Curious, Ed looked to the door, smiling when he saw Roy standing there. Walking over, Ed soon lost himself in the older man's embrace.

Sighing happily, Ed buried his head in Roy's chest. He absolutely loved that no matter where he went, when he got back he could come home to this.

Maybe that was the meaning of stability.

Pushing that notion aside temporarily, Ed continued thinking. He couldn't ever see himself with someone else, even if he tried. When he was here he felt safe, as if he had found his other half and the rest of the world couldn't touch him.

Maybe that was what was meant by loyalty and unity.

Looking at Roy's face and smiling, Ed figured that maybe blue was the missing color, after all.

Finished with his rambling thoughts, Ed drew Roy further into the room with a seductive smile as he undid the buttons of Roy's white shirt. Purity and innocence really didn't suit the man. It had long since been thrown out the window, but the color had remained. It was time to change that. Ed figured the tapestry of their lives needed just a little more red.

Aww. Ember's happy with how this came out. If you are too then please to review. No, I'm not intentionally rhyming; I just figured I have good timing. XD


End file.
